Article by Nancy Weiss

Originally published 4/14/15, Naturally@UConn

ContactBruce Hyde, Associate Extension Educator, Middlesex County Extension

bruce.hyde@uconn.edu

860-345-5229

Juliana Barrett, Associate Extension Educator, Connecticut Sea Grant, Groton, CT

juliana.barrett@uconn.edu

860-405-9106

clear.uconn.edu/climate

The extension system model has historically been to assess the needs and concerns of the citizenry and tailor programs to meet their concerns. What once worked effectively for rural farm families is now being applied to help com-munities deal with climate-related issues.

The Climate Adaptation Academy is an innovative approach to studying the impact of climate change that is also firmly rooted in tradition. A partnership of Connecticut Sea Grant, NOAA, CLEAR (Center for Land Use Education and Research) and the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, the Climate Adaptation Academy was originally seen as a way to connect municipal officials and land use commissioners with Extension educators in the field and specialists at UConn and beyond. Over time it became clear that the model needed to be more flexible and inclusive and that input would be most useful when it came from a variety of sources.

The Academy was first suggested by Juliana Barrett, Associate Extension Educator with Connecticut Sea Grant, head of the Climate Adaptation Academy, as a way to apply the model developed in the Land Use Academy to the Connecticut coast. She and Bruce Hyde, Director of the Land Use Academy, talked with municipal officials and community leaders and asked what were the impacts of climate change on their communities. The feedback was not just flooding and storm surge, but issues including longer-term budget impacts and the need for planning.

“This is such a new and ever-evolving area that we need to identify and define all the impacts on both coastal and inland communities.” says Hyde.

The Climate Adaptation Academy uses a peer-to-peer system to exchange information and reaches out to municipal officials, non-profits and individuals involved in and concerned about climate change.

“From Juliana’s and my perspectives, what we do is talk to local people and ask them how we can help them find solutions to their issues,” says Hyde.

Climate Adaptation Academy for Communities

Beach photo, left, courtesy of Liz Roll/FEMA.

T Y I N G R E S E A R C H T O R E A L L I F EHighlights of Extension

Hyde and Barrett use peer exchanges, geographic information systems and emergency response systems from disasters such as Hurricane Sandy. Last November they held a session to demonstrate how to use technology to create a record of where things have happened, such as flooding and fallen trees, that can be used by police and fire departments.

At a program entitled Living Shorelines, 70 Connecticut residents, all people working on the front lines of their communities’ responses to climate impacts, met to listen to experts and share their own experiences.

The Academy addresses legal issues related to climate adaptation and the impact of climate change on agriculture. Hyde noted that one of the biggest chal-lenges for municipalities is flooding from inadequate storm water systems, which were built based on standards developed 50-60 years ago.

Hyde noted that now there are “rain bombs” such as one in the summer of 2014 that dropped 13 inches of rain in 24 hours on Islip, Long Island, while Central Park, 50 miles away, received less than an inch. This type of weather event requires new ways of looking at how municipalities respond.

Among possible solutions is the creation of green infrastructures through the use of green roofs and green swales. Michael

Dietz, program director for Connecticut NEMO, is one of the leading experts in green infrastructure in the country. Dietz brings his skills to the Climate Adaptation Academy roster.

The Climate Adaptation Academy web site (clear.uconn.edu/climate) emphasizes flexibility and collaboration. “We don’t know all the answers. In some cases we don’t even know the questions,” the site states.

Bruce Hyde uses a Greek proverb at the end of his presentations on climate adapta-tion to emphasize the need for immediate action even though some of the impacts from climate change will be felt only by future generations: “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in.”

For the Climate Adaptation Academy, change, connection to more resources and people, idea exchanges and linking the knowledge base of the university to the needs of municipalities, communities and individuals is the core organizing principle. Its leaders are deter-mined that it will be as dynamic as the topics it addresses.

Coastal Landscaping Guide for Long Island Sound

Riparian corridors (or buffers) are the seg-ments of land along our rivers, streams and wetlands including plants and soil. These areas can provide multiple benefits, par-ticularly as the first line of defense against the impacts of surrounding land uses. Corridors slow runoff from precipitation, aid in flood control, and filter or trap pollutants. These areas can also provide habitat and corridors for wildlife as well as scenic value and privacy.

Within coastal areas, vegetated corridors can also be of significance in reducing the

impacts of waves and overwash on proper-ties. Juliana Barrett, Mark Brand (UConn Dept. of Plant Science) and Julissa Mendez (former grad student in Landscape Architecture) developed an online tool to help coastal residents think about how to plant their coastal properties in ways that will help prevent erosion as well as reduce damage and loss of plantings due

to salt spray from storm events by using native plants.

Check out the Coastal Landscaping Guide for Long Island Sound at: clear.uconn.edu/crlg.

“This is such a new and ever-evolving area that

we need to identify and define all the impacts on

both coastal and inland communities.”

TOOLS & TRAINING

UConn Extension - 1376 Storrs Road, Storrs, CT 06269-4134 Website: extension.uconn.edu • Email: extension@uconn.edu

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